The top US diplomat in Caracas, Venezuela has been expelled for allegedly conspiring against the government, President Nicolas Maduro announced.
“I have declared him persona non grata and I announce the exit of the US chargé d’affaires in 48 hours,” Maduro said on Tuesday, referring to Todd Robinson.
The expulsion comes after Washington denounced Maduro’s victory in Venezuela’s elections on Sunday as a “sham.” Maduro won 4 million votes more than the second-placed opposition candidate Henri Falcon, but the turnout was just over 46 percent.
US supports Venezuela’s democracy by accusing Maduro of drug profiteering ahead of elections
Washington insists that Maduro is running a socialist dictatorship, with US Vice President Mike Pence calling the election“neither free nor fair” and said the “fake process” was a blow to the “proud democratic tradition” of Venezuela.
The Trump administration sanctioned all purchases of Venezuelan debt on Monday, but stopped short of blocking oil sales.
Maduro slammed the sanctions as “arbitrary and unilateral measures” that constitute a “crime against humanity.”
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry also criticized the “systematic campaign of aggression and hostility” from the United States, which it said was aimed at punishing the Venezuelan people “for exercising their right to vote.”
Robinson, a career diplomat, took over the embassy in Caracas in September 2017. Prior to that, he was US ambassador to Guatemala.
Reuters
